D UrCH PA RSONA GE. 1 8/ 



miles, I called upon the minister of the village 

 church, and presenting a note from my host of 

 the previous night, was cordially welcomed at 

 the parsonage. It is one of those old-fashioned 

 Dutch houses — Mr. Williamson could not tell 

 exactly how old — that was built in the first 

 • part of the last century, if not even earlier, a 

 solid structure of thick stone walls, large chim- 

 neys, low-studded with heavy cross-beams. I 

 fancy that on the library table, which like all 

 the furniture including the big clock that has 

 ticked with slow measured cadence dealing 

 out their spans of life to the many succeeding 

 dominies but still as youthful itself as the 

 jolly sun upon its face, there have been vol- 

 umes of sermons written in Dutch for the edi- 

 fication of the crumbling bones and dust now 

 in the venerable churchyard. Half a cent- 

 ury ago Dutch was continued as the pulpit 

 language of many churches in south-western 

 New York and north-eastern New Jersey. 

 Latterly these Dutch churches have been 

 *' Reformed " in language and doctrine, so 

 that, although they have come to differ 

 in no essential degree from Presbyterians, they 

 retain their former name only out of regard 

 to the old associations connected with it. 



